The present invention relates to culturing devices.
Thus, the present invention relates to devices for growing cultures from microorganisms so that by inspection of the cultures it is possible to determine the presence of certain microorganisms.
At the present time when the presence of a given microorganism is suspected at a given part of the body of an individual, in order to determine whether or not in fact such a microorganism is present, it is conventional to transfer a body fluid which is suspected of carrying the microorganism to a suitable growth medium where the microorganism, if in fact it is present, will grow so that by inspection of the growth medium the presence or absence of the microorganism can be determined. For such purposes it is conventional to apply a swab to a part of the body where the presence of a given microorganism is suspected, this swab removing part of the body fluid such as mucous or the like which is suspected of carrying the microoganism, and then the swab is placed in contact with a suitable nutrient for transferring the body fluid with the suspected microorganism therein to the nutrient medium. Thereafter the nutrient is placed for example, in a suitable incubator for a given period of time in an atmosphere which is favorable for growth of the microorganism, and after elapse of this period of time, the growth medium is inspected to determine whether or not in fact the suspected microorgansims have grown and are therefore present in the body.
Procedures and devices of the above type have inherent disadvantages. Thus, there is a considerable inconvenience in requiring a physician or other skilled individual to extract from the body of an individual materials which are suspected of containing a given microorganism and then transferring the extracted material to a growth medium which must then be placed in an atmosphere suitable for growth. In addition to the inconvenience of these procedures, a considerable amount of equipment is required, and very often physicians will mail swabs with specimens thereon to laboratories for testing. Thus, under these latter conditions a considerable delay is involved as well as a considerable risk that the microorganisms, if they are present, will die during the interval between removal from the body and contact with a nutrient at a laboratory, for example, after transportation time has elapsed.
Also, certain microorganisms cannot remain alive when subjected even to a slight temperature change upon leaving the body.
Moreover, completely aside from the above factors, the conditions under which microorganisms are artificially grown cannot fail to be different from the conditions which obtain in the body where the microorganism may be located. Because of these different growing conditions, it is possible to arrive at inaccurate results according to which unnecessary treatments will be given to an individual or according to which necessary treatments will not be given.